Interested in social issues led Ulina Artha E. Panjaitan to become one of the outstanding graduates of Universitas Brawijaya (UB). At the Graduation attended by 624 people, Sunday (09/29/2024), she was declared to have achieved Cumlaude predicate with a GPA of 3.93 and a study period of 3 years and 8 months.
The girl who is familiarly called Ulin admitted that she chose to study in the Government Science study program, FISIP UB because she wanted to learn more about social issues and government politics.
“Politics and public policy in Indonesia are quite dynamic. I want to be involved in the process of analyzing existing complex issues. I also want to contribute to social change and community development,” she said.
To get involved, Ulin felt the need to understand policies to improve community welfare through policy analysis skills, program effectiveness, communication, and leadership.
“All of these skills are in this major and are certainly needed in the world of work when facing problems that require a broad perspective,” said the girl from North Sumatra.
Her passion for social issues also made Ulin interested in researching the handling of HIV AIDS in Malang City, which she made the topic of her thesis.
“My concern is the complex problems related to handling HIV/AIDS in Malang City. Data shows that East Java places the second place in the number of sufferers in Indonesia, and Malang City places the second rank in East Java Province, and there is no legal umbrella that specifically handles this,” she explained.
She researched the handling of HIV/AIDS in Malang City from the perspective of Emerson Nabatchi’s collaborative governance theory. From the results of the research that has been done, Ulin hopes that there will be an active role from various parties in handling HIV/AIDS in Malang.
“Considering that HIV/AIDS is a deadly disease and the number is not small in Malang City, its handling cannot be done by one actor alone, but the community, private sector, and government need to collaborate in order to realize the three zero commitment,” she hoped.
During her studies, Ulin actively participated in organizational activities, such as the Social Science Research Agency, and the LPM Perspektif FISIP as a reporter and head of the editorial division. She also often joined committees on campus, and had the opportunity to become a student employee journalist at FISIP and a student buffer at Malang Corruption Watch, one of the NGOs in Malang.
From her passion for writing, she has also won many achievements. There are, FISIP’s Outstanding Student in 2022, 3rd Place Grand Essay Academy League Vol. 2 in 2022, Contributor writer in the book #2 Kumpulan Inovator Muda Brawijaya in 2022, Best Author Essay in Draft Tinta Jingga in 2021 whose writing was published in the book “Digital Sanctuary: Adaptation of Various Corners of Community Life in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic”.
“I want to expand my professional network and become a researcher and writer on social issues in government institutions. I believe that through research I will bring positive changes that have an impact on society, as well as make real contributions to policy development and the advancement of science,” she concluded. [Irene/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
